Footwear



V. 5. BROWN Dec. 13, 1949 FOOTWEAR Filed Jan. 27; 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 am; INVENTOR.

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firm/may ,Dec. 13, 1949 v. 5. BROWN 2,491,297

FOOTWEAR Filed Jan. 27, 3948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,nlr I I 14 6 24 --12b l atentecl Dec. 13, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1'7 Claims.

This invention relates to footwear, and escially to a type of footwear that is particularly useful when worn by a person participating in outdoor sports.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide footwear of this character, which will present an upper that does notnecessarily include a lacing such as ordinarily used at the front of an upper for securing it tightly about the wearers ankle; in other words, to provide a construction which will give considerable freedom of movement of the ankle though at the same time protecting the ankle at the sides and front.

Another object of the invention is to provide footwear of this type, including a sole and an upper, having improved means for securing the upper and the sole together, which can, when desired, be readily released to permit the upper to be worn indoors without the regular sole.

Another object of the invention is to provide means associated with the sole and the upper, which will co-operate with the wearers foot to prevent lateral shifting of the forward portion of the sole with respect to the wearers foot.

Another object of the invention is to provide footwear of this general type, which is so constructed as to facilitate the quick and easy attachment of the footwear to ones foot, and to this end, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the upper of the footwear is formed so that it is open at the side toward the heel to facilitate the introduction of the wearers foot into the upper; and at the same time to provide means associated with the counter of the footwear to secure the upper to the counter.

Another object of the invention is to provide footwear such as described, having features of construction associated with the upper and the sole, which will enable a simple thong to be readily secured to the upper in such a way as to hold the sole securely to it, while at the same time avoiding any interference with the free movements of the wearers foot and ankle.

In the preferred embodiment, the invention includes an upper which has a flexible sole-piece incorporated therewith; and one of the objects of the invention is to provide a relatively rigid sole having features of construction which facilitate its being quickly and removably attached to the upper through the agency of a thong, or thongs.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention a fastener is employed, that projects up from the relatively rigid sole, and located in a position to enable it to lie between the large toe and its adjacent toe of the wearer; and one of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved construction for this fastener, which will insure the security of its mounting on the relatively rigid or stiff sole of the footwear, and at the same time provide means for protecting the wearers foot from direct contact with the side of the fastener.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combinations of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce efiicient footwear.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of an example of footwear embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the footwear illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective further illustrating the footwear, and showing the upper in a position just above the sole to which it can be attached. The lower division of this perspective illustrates the preferred construction for the sole, and indicates a thong applied to the sole.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view, and is a perspective illustrating closely associated parts of the counter of the footwear, and the rear flaps or extensions that form the rear ends of the upper. This view particularly illustrates the means that I may employ to facilitate securing these two flaps together, and also to the counter.

Fig. 5 is a top plan of the sole of the footwear, and particularly illustrating the position in which the toe fastener for the thong is located with relation to the toes of the foot of the wearer. This view also indicates in dotted lines, the manner in which the thong is passed through the fastener, and how its strands cross each other at the shank of the sole.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the sole and the lower portion of the upper, taken about on the line 66 of Fig. 5.

Fig. '7 is also a perspective showing the lower portion of the footwear, and illustrating a modified embodiment of the fastener means that is employed at the toe portion of the footwear.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken about on the line 88 of Fig. 7, and with the rear portion of the footwear broken away. This view further 3 illustrates details of the fastener illustrated in Fig. 7.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, in practicing the invention I provide a sole I which preferably includes an insole Ia and an outsole lb, and I provide an upper 2 which is of flexible material such as thin leather. The sole I, however, is relatively thick and has some rigidity as compared with the upper 2.

The heel portion 3 of the upper as illustrated in Fig. 3', fits against the inner faces of the sides 4 of a counter 5. This counter 5 is also preferably of more or less flexible material such as usedin the upper 2. The overlapping edges of the portions 3 and t may be secured together in any desired manner, for example, by stitching or by means of cement.

The upper is provided with a sole-piece 6, which is also preferably of flexible material, and secured around its edge to the lower edge of the upper and to the lower edge of the counter by means of a stitched seam I (see Fig. 6).

The upper 2 extends a considerable distance above the sole so as to operate as a protection for the forward side and lateral sides of the ankle and limb of the person wearing this article. At the rear side as indicated at 8, the upper 2 is open, to enable the wearers foot to be introduced into the upper from the rear side. The necessity for this is occasioned by the fact that the curved ,5

forward wall 9 of the upper where a lacing is usually provided in shoes, is formed into a continuous closed wall. By reason of the opening at the point 8, the upper rear portion of the upper forms two flaps I 0. When this footwear is being put on ones foot, the flaps It are swung away from each other as indicated in Fig. 3, so as to permit the toe of the foot to be inserted into the toe portion II of the upper. The foot is pushed forwardly far enough to enable the heel of the foot to be pushed down into the counter 5.

In accordance with my invention, I provide detachable means associated with the lower portions of the flaps II], and with the counter, which will enable these three parts to be detachably secured together, and this detachable connection preferably is completed through the agency of means including thongs, or a thong I2. The manner of securing this thong to the upper and the sole, to enable it to complete the connection at the rear of the counter 5, and also to secure the sole I to the upper, will be described more fully in detail at another point in this specification. However, this connection formed at the counter, preferably includes an eye I3 formed on, or attached to, one of the flaps H3, indicated specifically by the numeral I611. The opposite flap III has an opening or eyelet I4, and in making a connection the flap Hla is folded inside of the flap II], and the eye I3 is threaded through the eyelet I4, after which it is pushed outwardly through an eyelet I5 that is formed near the upper edge of the counter and in its medial plane. These details are illustrated clearly in Fig. 4 as well as in Fig. 3.

While such a fastener can be merely attached if desired, to the upper side of the upper wall It of the toe portion II, I prefer to provide a fastener II the lower end of which is secured to the sole, and this fastener is located in such a position on the sole that it is adapted to fit into the space I8 between the large toe and the toe adjacent to it when the wearer puts on the footwear. This is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, in which the fastener I1 consists of a stem preferably of stout 4 wire, the lower end of which is rigid with a discform base I9 anchored to the sole I. The upper end of the stem of the fastener I1 is bent around to form an eye 2% which projects up through an opening or slot ZI that is cut or punched in the wall I6 of the upper II. The plane of the eye is preferably vertical in a front and rear plane to fit into the slot 2| which extends parallel with the axis of the sole.

In order to protect the foot. from direct contact with the metallic stem of the fastener I1, I prefer to encase the stem and the eye 2t in a flexible sheath 22 of thin leather or similar material. This sheath, however, is fitted so that it does not close the eye 2? when it projects through the slot 2I. Hence it does not interfere with threading a thong I2 through the eye 20 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1. As illustrated there the thong I2 is applied so that a loop or bight 23 of the thong pulls against the rear side of the eye 23, the thong being disposed in two strands i2a and IZb that extend rearwardly and downwardly at the forward portion of the footwear. These strands extend to a point under the instep of the foot and at the shank 2 5 of the sole, at which point each strand passes over to the opposite side of the shoe as illustrated in Fig. 5. In view of this crossing of the strands, the strand I21) as shown in Fig. 1, will emerge from the sole I at the left side of the footwear, and the strand Iia will pass away from the shank 2d of the sole on the right side of the shoe. These strands are then passed up along the outer side of the counter 5, and one or both of them are passed through the eye I3, and formed into a tie 25 at that point. Of course before making this tie, the strands I2a and I 2b should be pulled taut.

While the sole I can be made if desired, of a single piece of relatively thick, rigid leather or similar suitable sole material, I prefer to construct the sole with the insole Ia and outsole lb as illustrated in Fig. 6, in which case the base I9 of the fastener I? is preferably mounted between the two sole pieces as illustrated in Fig. 6, after which the insole and outsole can be cemented together.

In order to enable this to be accomplished, it is of course necessary to provide the insole Ia with a slot 26, which is suificiently large to permit the eye 29 to be passed up through. it from below.

While the rear portion of the sole can be provided with a regular heel projecting downwardly so to present a shoulder: at its. forward face, against which the crossing extensions I20 of the strands may rest when securing the upper in place on the sole, I prefer in practice to provide conduit 2'? between the insole. Ia and the outsole Eb, through which the crossed portions of the strands extend. In order to form such a conduit, and also to give more of a heel efiect than would otherwise occur, I prefer to provide one or more lifts such as the lift 28 between the heel portion 29 of the outsole and the heel portion til of the insole. Just forward of the foredge of the lift 28, the material of the inole la will dispose itself in an inclined extension 5, which w m rge at its forward portion into the flat a of the insole Ia, and the cementing of t e fiat tin of the insole to th outsole Ib back to a point such as the point 3Ib lie just forward of the conduit 2?.

v-Jhen this footwear is not being worn, the forward portion of the thong i2 is left in piace, toge .ier with the crossed portions I20, and the rear ends of the strands 211 and I212 are left lying loose so that whenever desired, the wearer's foot can be thrust into the upper to apply the footwear in the manner already described, and secured in place by passing the ends of the strands lZb through the eye it, and forming the tie 25. However, if it is desired to use this footwear as a moccasin, or house slipper, this can be accomplished by detaching and removing the thong and the sole from the upper. This of course leaves the upper and the counter 55 in place, but without any tie connecting th flaps of the upper to the counter. But of course, if desired, the eye l3 can be used with the eyelets I4 and IE, together with a small cord or tie to connect these parts together to establish a more effective connection between the flaps H] of the upper and the counter 5.

Instead of employing the stem I! with the eye 2t as illustrated in Fig. 6, I may construct this toe fastener in substantially the way illustrated in Fig. 8. In this view this fastener is illustrated as including a stem 32, which carries at its upper end a detachable head. 33. This head 33 is of considerably larger diameter than the stem or post 32, and has a threaded shank 34 that is screwed down into a threaded socket in the upper end of the post 32. The head 33 has an integral neck of substantially the same diameter as the post 32, so that the lower end of the neck 35 operates as a shoulder to seat on the upper end of the post when the head 33 is screwed home on the post. The wall lea of the toe portion of the upper, of course has an opening 36 of suflicient diameter to permit the neck 35 to fit into it. If desired, the upper side of the head 33 may be provided with. a screwdriver slot 3? to assist in putting the head in place. By reason of the relatively large diameter or width of the head 33, its under side forms a shoulder 33, which enables a thong to be disposed in a loop 33 around the neck 35 under this shoulder. This is illustrated in Fig. 8.

In order to insure that the strands lid and I21) of the thong will fit or hug closely to the side of the upper in the vicinity of the shank 24, I prefer to form the insole la with a shank 24a, which is of considerably less width than the shank of the outsoie.

Many other embodiments of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In footwear, the combination of a shoe having an upper for enveloping the wearers ankle,

, and a counter for receiving the wearers heel, a

flexible sole-piece connected to the upper and the counter, a sole of relatively stiff material under the sole-piece and having an outline substantially coextensive with the outline of said sole-piece; and means including a forward thong extending across the fore part of said upper adjacent the forward end thereof and passing under the said sole to secure the same to the shoe; said thong also including a rear part extending from a point adjacent the instep of the shoe to the rear side of the said counter for further securing the rear part of said sole to the shoe.

2. Footwear according to claim 1 in which the said upper is open above the counter to facilitate introducing the wearers foot into the same.

3. Footwear according to claim 1 in which the said upper is open above the counter to facilitate introducing the wearers foot, and including manually controlled means for securing the rear portion of the upper to the said counter.

Footwear according to claim 1 in which the said upper is open adjacent the counter so as to form two flaps between which the wearers foot may be introduced into the upper, and means associated with said flaps and the counter cooperating with the rear thong for closing the upper at the heel.

5. Footwear according to claim 1, in which the said upper is open adjacent the counter, so that it presents two flaps between which the wearers foot may be introduced into the upper, and. means associated with said flaps and the counter, including an eye carried by one of said parts and eyelets formed in the other parts through which the eye passes, so that the said eye projects rearwardly at the rear of the counter for attachment to the rear portion of the thong.

6. Footwear according to claim 1, including a part projecting up from the forepart of the upper adapted to have the forward portion of the thong attached thereto.

7. Footwear according to claim 1, including a stem mounted at its lower end on the sole and located in a position to enable the same to project up between two of the wearers toes.

8. Footwear according to claim 1, including a stem mounted at its lower end in the sole and located in a position to enable the same to project up between two of the wearers toes, and a protective sheath of flexible material enveloping the said stem, said stem having an eye projecting up through the wall of said upper adjacent the toe for attachment to a thong.

9. In footwear, the combination of a shoe having an upper for enveloping the wearers ankle, and a counter for receiving the wearers heel, a flexible solepiece connected to the upper and the counter, a sole of relatively stiif material under the sole-piece, and having an outline substantially coextensive with the outline of said sole-piece; and means including a forward thong extending across the fore part of said upper adjacent the forward end thereof and passing under the said sole to secure the same to the shoe; said thong also including a rear part extending from a point adjacent the instep of the shoe to the rear side of the said counter for further seeming the rear part of said sole to the shoe; said thong means comprising a single piece with its middle portion secured to the upper adjacent one end thereof, so that the thong is disposed in two strands crossing each other under the shank of the heel, and with the ends of said strands secured to the upper toward the other end thereof.

10. Footwear according to claim 9, in which the sole includes an insole and. an o-utsole between which the strands of the thong are disposed at the shank of the sole.

11. Footwear according ito claim 9, in which the sole includes an insole and an outsole with a heel lift disposed between the same; and in which the clossed strands lie between the insole and the outsole forward of said heel lift.

12. Footwear of the kind described, having a sole and an upper disposed above the sole, said upper having an opening in the upper wall thereof adjacent the toe of the footwear; and fastener means secured at its lower end to the sole and projecting upwardly at its upper end through said opening, and having means above the opening to enable the same to co-operate with a thong for securing the upper to the sole.

13. Footwear of the kind described, having an insole and an out-sole, and an upper disclosed above the insole, said upper having an opening in the upper wall thereof adjacent the toe portion of: the, upper; and, fastener. ans includi g a disc-eform base located between-the insole'an-d the outsole with a stem extending up through the insole andhaving aneye at its upper end projecting'up-wardly throughssaid opening, saideye capable of co-operating with a thong for securing the upper to the sole.

14; Footwear of the kind described, having a sole and an upper disposed above the sole said upper having an opening in the upper wall thereof adjacent the toe of the footwear; and fastener means secured at its lower end to the sole and projecting upwardly at its upper end through said; Opening, said fastener means including a shank and a removable head secured thereto above the said upper wall, said head being of larger width than the shank to facilitate attachinga thong to (the shank for securing the upper to the sole.

15. In footwear of the kind described, a sole sole on the toe portion thereof, and having an eye at the upper end thereof, said fastener being located in a position toienable it to extend up between the wearerslarge toe and its adjacent toe, said sole including an insole and an outsole capa-ble of co-operating with the upper resting ill thereon; in combination with a thongsecured to the fastening means anddisposed in two strands crossing the shank of' the sole between the insole and the outsole, for securing the upp r to the sole; the shank of the insole-being of considerably less width thanthe shank of the outsoleso as to enable the strands of the thong to hug closel to the upper when the thong is being secured to the upper.

17. In footwear, the combination of a shoe having; an, upper for enveloping the wearers ankle, including a flexible sole-piece and a counter se cur-ed to the upper, and receiving the wearers heel, a sole of relatively stiff material under the sole-piece, fastening means projecting u from the upper at the toe portion thereof, fastening means associated with the said 'counter, and a thong disposed in a loop at one of said fastening means and disposed in two strands extending away from the forward fastening means and crossed under the shank of the flexible sole-piece, and with the end portions of the strands secured to the other fastening means.

VIRGINIA S. BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED.

She following references are of record in the of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,554,883 Sahlin Sept. 22, 1935 1,867,679 Riehle 'et a1 July 19, 1932 

